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2003 Anaheim World Championships
The 37th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Anaheim, California, United States, in 2003. These World Championships also served as qualifications into the 2004 Athens Olympics. Format of Competition All participating gymnasts, including those who were not part of a team, participated in a qualification round. The results of this competition determined which teams and individuals participated in the remaining competitions, which included: *The team competition, in which the eight highest scoring teams from qualifications competed. Each team of six gymnasts could only have three gymnasts perform on each apparatus, and all three scores counted toward the team total. *The all-around competition, in which only the twenty-four highest scoring individuals in the all-around competed. For the first time, each country was limited to only two gymnasts in the all-around final. *The event finals, in which the eight highest scoring individuals on each apparatus competed. Each country was limited to two gymnasts in each apparatus final. Tie-breakers were not used at this competition. If two gymnasts received identical scores in the event finals, they were both awarded medals for their placement. Results Notable Moments *Coming into the team final, USA's Ashley Postell and Annia Hatch were sidelined with illness and injury. They had to call on their alternates, Terin Humphrey and Chellsie Memmel, to join the team. Then Courtney Kupets also became injured, but it was too late to call for more alternates. The Americans competed with five gymnasts, while the rest of the teams on the floor had six. They ended up winning their first World team gold medal. Kupets' name remained on the roster in the team final and received a medal when the Americans won. *The Australian team won the bronze medal, the highest placement for an Australian team at a World Championships. *Russia's Svetlana Khorkina became the first gymnast to win three World All-Around titles. *Oksana Chusovitina won Uzbekistan's first individual World gold medal since the collapse of the Soviet Union. *China's Fan Ye became the third Chinese gymnast to win the World title on balance beam, following Mo Huilan and Ling Jie. Incidentally, these three gymnasts all won their World beam titles the year before the Olympics. *Daiane Dos Santos became the first Brazilian World Champion. *The Longines Prize for Elegance was awarded to USA's Carly Patterson. Controversy *The team final was plagued with falls, mistakes, and uncharacteristic low scores from pretty much every team on the floor, including Russia, Romania, and China. One particular incident centered around USA's Hollie Vise, when she almost performed on the uneven bars without her number on. Once the judges put up the green flag, the gymnast has thirty seconds to mount the apparatus. Vise's coach and teammates all scrambled around to find her number. Eventually, someone had to write her number on a piece of paper and pin it to the back of her leotard. Although this went way beyond thirty seconds, Vise was allowed to perform. Some people believed it to be an advantage until Vise fell during her routine. Medal Count Gallery anaheimtfgold.jpg|'Team Gold Medalists:' USA (from left: Coach Kelli Hill, Tasha Schwikert, Hollie Vise, Chellsie Memmel, Terin Humphrey, Carly Patterson) anaheimtfsilver.jpg|'Team Silver Medalists:' Romania (from left: Oana Ban, Florica Leonida, Aura Andreea Munteanu, Alexandra Eremia, Monica Roşu, Cătălina Ponor, Coach Octavian Bellu) anaheimtfbronze.jpg|'Team Bronze Medalists:' Australia (from left: Coach Peggy Liddick, Belinda Archer, Monette Russo, Stephanie Moorhouse, Jacqueline Dunn, Danielle Kelley, Allana Slater) anaheimaa.jpg|All-Around Medalists (from left): Zhang Nan (CHN), Svetlana Khorkina (USA), Carly Patterson (USA) anaheimbb.jpg|Balance Beam Medalists (from left): Cătălina Ponor (ROU), Fan Ye (CHN), Ludmila Ezhova (RUS) anaheimfx.jpg|'Floor Exercise Medalists (from left):' Cătălina Ponor (ROU), Daiane Dos Santos (BRA), Elena Gómez (ESP) Category:World Championships Category:2003 Competitions